A great deal is owed to Karel Capek’s dystopian 1920 science fiction stage play R.U.R., which first introduced the word “robot” to the English lexicon. On a faraway, futuristic island, a team of scientists have created a perfect world made possible by robots who, more closely resembling androids by today’s standards, appear and think as humans do. The robots are happy to serve mankind at first, but when economic corruption and human vice threaten to destroy the utopian vision, the robots retaliate by menacing mankind’s survival. Directed by Cord Sibilsky and Sarah Sapinski, Town & Gown Players’ Second Stage production includes regulars such as Fred Galyean, Rebekah Williams, Murray Weed, Sean Polite, Steven Carroll and Kelly Doyle Mace. Following the Sunday matinee performance, playwright Lee Eric Shackleford, who adapted the original text, will give a talkback and discuss his modernized take on the science fiction classic and the potential outcomes of a robot apocalypse. Friday and Saturday shows begin at 8 p.m. and Sunday’s show begins at 2 p.m. Admission is $5.
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